THE RIGHT TO TRAVEL

BY PLANE: In 1990, Congress banned smoking on all domestic flights., In 1994, through a treaty with Canada, smoking was banned on virtually every flying-route in North America. Unfasten your seatbelts; more is to come. By the end of this year (1996) per a UN resolution led by the U.S., smokers will be banished from all flights everywhere--on every international carrier in the world. ¹ For a high percentage of smokers, the effect will be exactly like revoking their passports--considered a violation of basic rights as defined by the UN.

The "reason" for this, of course, is that same abused concept of "secondhand smoke." Yet a 1990 study, performed by the U.S. Dept. of Transprotation at Congress's request, showed that smoking wasn't a factor in airline-cabin air. Specifically it showed that a nonsmoker flying in the no-smoking section of a plane that allowed smoking, would have to fly non-stop for 48,430 hours (that's 5 1/2 years!) to inhale the equivalent of one cigarette. ² And Consumer Reports, in a recent evaluation of airline-cabin air, noted that particulate matter in the air (the exact same "matter" that was blamed on cigarettes) was at higher levels now than when smoking had been allowed. ³

And while several recent polls have appeared to show that flyers are demanding, even clamoring, for no-smoking flights, the percentage who demand it are exactly the percentage of people-who-don't-smoke. ⁴ The only poll we know of that exclusively questioned smokers showed that most had refused to fly--at all--on a banned route; that those who had been forced to make business trips on the routes had found the experience ranging from "uncomfortable to unbearable" (84%) and refused to fly for pleasure. ⁵

BY TRAIN: According to "informed sources in Washington," the Amtrak smoking-ban was forced on the railroad by U.S. Congressman Richard Durbin (D, Ill), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, who basically threatened Amtrak with losing its federal subsidy if Amtrak didn't comply. ⁶ Amtrak complied. To the tune of a $20-million-a-year loss that's been directly attributed to the exclusion of smokers. ⁷ A similar confession of Congressional pressure was wrested from Metro-North, an east coast commuter line. ⁸ And therefore, we can only assume we've found a pattern--a pattern of determined government intervention.

BY TAXI AND LIMO: Local laws, in many places, prevent smoking in either.

IN PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES: The Assembly in Massachusetts had another idea (H 23-70) and so did the State Assembly in Pennsylvania. Both wanted laws to make smoking illegal in your own private car if a child (defined as "under 16") were present. This "crime" would be punished by a $50 fine. Both bills have been killed, but like improperly staked vampires, they may rise again.

(1) The resolution was passed in 1992 and reaffirmed in Sept. 1995. The officiating body is the International Civil Aviation Organization, a part of the U.N. The resolution is non-binding but may be made binding through international treaties. A check of most airlines show most have been intimidated and do intend to comply. The target date for compliance is July 1, 1996. For more information write: ICAO, Suite 327, 1000 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2R2. U.S. citizens, address U.S. permanent delegate, Carol Carmody.
(2) U.S. Dept of Transportation study, submitted to Congress 2/90.
(3) Consumer Reports, 7/94.
(4) USA Today, 9/2/94.
(5) American Smokers Journal, Fall 1994.
(6) Ibid.
(7) National Assn of Railroad Passengers newsletter, Oct/Nov 1994.
(8) "The...ban...on Metro-North was (forgive the pun) railroaded through by United States Congressman Robert J. Mrazek, a Long Island Democrat. Later disgraced in the House banking scandal (Mrazek ranked highly in the number of bad checks) he decided to resign." American Smokers Journal, Fall 1994.